Featured Vendor: Matthews Family Farm

Matthews Family Farm, owned by none other than the amazing duo Patti and Seth as well as their daughter Claire, began in 2006 in Weiser, Idaho. This all started when both Patti and Seth grew up in production agriculture and later followed their experience with education in Animal Science & Nutrition. Together they’ve raised sheep, chickens (for meat & eggs) and turkeys since 2006, but they have only been beekeepers since 2011. They purchased the beekeeping business from a local couple who wanted to retire and who had been coming to the Saturday Market with honey since the beginning of the market in 1994.

Aside from the delicious animal options they feature, the Matthews provide many value added products using honey and beeswax. Many of the recipes for their soaps, lotions, salad dressings and honey mustards come from trial and error and simply figuring out the way to use the great options that their farm is privy to. They especially love how their honey shines in the sun every Saturday, and they delight in return customers who come back and say, “That was fantastic! They pride themselves on not only being amazing farmers but also on educating the public about what it means to live locally and seasonally.

Eventually these amazing farmers hope to expand their creamed honey line. Currently, they make huckleberry, cinnamon, and lavender all year as well as blackberry-raspberry during the berry season. They’ve also experimented with jalapeno and plan to eventually experiment with strawberry-peach. The value added products don’t stop there though! The Matthews have also formulated a beeswax diaper rash ointment (Bum Balm), an after-sun lotion (Crispy Cream), a congestion remedy (Phlegm Phighter) and a honey cough drop with lemon or black cherry.

If you’re looking for any of Patti and Seth’s products, you can find them through their website, at both Co-op locations, Whole Foods, Matthews Grain & States Produce in Weiser, Fiddle Creek Fruit Stand outside Riggins, and of course at the Saturday Market on the corner of 8th and Idaho.